A Beautiful, Wonderful, Perfectly Gorgeous Dream
by Slina
Summary: Aura, beautifully perfect in every way, gets relief from her ohsotragic life when she’s transported back to the 1870s… just in time to meet her one true love Erik! It’s any Mary Sue’s dream come true… or is it?
1. Through the Mirror

A Beautiful, Wonderful, Perfectly Gorgeous Dream

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Phantom characters, whether from the book, musical, movie, or anywhere else they might happen to show up. And technically, Aura's only half-mine, since though I did create her, she's really just a renamed Mary-Sue who is, of course, universally owned.**

**Also, to give credit where it's due, this story was inspired by several Mary-Sue parodies in the Lord of the Rings fandom, specifically 'Legolas' Love' by The Exile 09, and 'Never Leave Fanfiction Lying Around' by crazyroninchic (which is definitely worth reading if you like Lotr fanfiction at all). I'd also like to recommend 'The Beamy Golden Sunlight Rays of Angst' by Vendetta Vertigo, which is a Phantom of the Opera Mary-Sue parody. I was already working on this particular phic by the time Beamy Golden first showed up on ffn, but it was still great fun seeing how someone else decided to parody Phantom M-Ss, and Vendetta Vertigo did a great job with it.**

**Another disclaimer: Yes, Aura is a total Mary-Sue. This was completely intentional, as this is my way of having fun with the Mary-Sue character in general. I'm not picking on Mary-Sue authors in any way, nor am I making fun of any particular stories or characters. The only things that get picked on are certain bits of canon, or random fanfic clichés, some of which I've been known to commit myself. So please, just take this as the fun, light-hearted parody that it's meant to be, and I hope you all have plenty of fun with this!**

Chapter 1 – Through the Mirror

**Wherein Aurelie Felicienne Cholmondeley goes through the mirror and ends up in the Opera Populaire**

Aurelie Felicienne Cholmondeley (or Aura for short) looked into the mirror, and sighed. She had swept up her beautiful shimmering dazzling gorgeous floor length auburn hair so it only came as far as her back. Beautiful as it was, she felt self-conscious about having hair so long, even if it did cascade absolutely perfectly down to the floor. People just didn't appreciate true beauty anymore.

Her full luscious perfectly formed ruby red lips smiled at the way her short, shiny bright pink skirt brought out her sparkling emerald orbs that were like orbs, making her long black eyelashes flutter prettily as they framed her sparkling exquisite eyes. In fact, the whole outfit was sooo her, and made her look even more stunning than normal.

She turned on her Phantom of the Opera cd and she pulled on a pretty pair of sparkling gold flip-flops onto her delicately tiny feet. She had just bought them yesterday, and they totally made her outfit look so much better on her slender and lithe form.

She sighed as she listened to Christien singing Think of Me. Her life was so miserable. She'd been hated all her life, by her family most of all, and worst of all, there weren't any guys who liked her! A tear ran down her face, and she barely caught it before it could stain her snowy pure white and silver shirt.

But then, it was ok that no guys liked her, because for one thing, anyone who didn't like her absolutely had to be completely stupid anyway not to like her, because she was that beautiful and nice and attractive and just absolutely perfect in every way.

And besides, that way she'd be sure to be free when she finally met Phantom. She watched the movie every day after coming home from school, knew all the songs by heart, and was absolutely and positively in _love_ with the Phantom.

Suddenly the mirror started glowing. Her cd player was playing the song Phantom of the Opera, and now the mirror was opening and a bright light was shining out, bright enough that it should have blinded her, but of course it didn't, because there is absolutely no way that Aura is ever going to become blind.

Aura walked through and found herself in a dark tunnel. The opera house underground!

She ran through the tunnels. It was just like a really complicated maze, but of course she easily found her way up into Cristine's dressing room, without even making one wrong turn ever the entire way.

The room was empty, and Aura ran gracefully out into the hall, her loose auburn curls floating behind her like an shimmering, charming auburn breeze on a bright and sunny day, only even more prettily than that.

Meg ran up. Her blonde hair looked dirty next to Aura's brilliant auburn hair, and when Meg ran, her hair only jostled drably. But Meg was way too dense to notice even something as so totally obvious as that.

"You must be here to audition for Hannibal!" Meg exclaimed. She clumsily pulled Aura out onto the stage. "We have someone else!" Meg shouted at the managers Andre and Chirmin.

They looked at Aura and caught their breath, stunned by her flawless and entrancing beauty. "You must audition right away!" they exclaimed, and quickly forced everyone to clear the stage, making her take the center with a whole spotlight just for her.

Her hair and eyes shone in the light, only adding to her radiance.

Everyone except for Carlotta, who pouted in the corner and threw lamps at the wall, gladly let her take the spotlight, because her glorious and rapturous beauty obviously made her deserve it

"Do you know the aria from act three?" Ander asked.

"Think of Me? Sure, of course I do," Aura replied, speaking for the first time with her light, angelic, lilting, silvery, and musical voice. Everyone fell into a trance just by her talking.

The music started, and Aura started to sing. She sang all the words perfectly, hitting each note with even more beauty than an angel. (And even more than that ugly Christien!)

In the ahs at the end, she made it way more complicated than they'd done in the movie, and with so much more grace and sweetness and perfection, too.

Everyone was soooo stunned by her performance, but little did they know that someone else was listening.

Eric leaned out over ropes on the side of the catwalk to get a better look at Aura. "Who is this angel of perfection?" he asked himself. "She's even more like an angel than Christin ever was! She's even better than the angels, even!! It's a good thing I sent Christen away, because otherwise I never would have met this most dazzling girl."

Meanwhile, Aura finished the song, unaware that the Phantom had heard her sing. She curtsied with absolutely perfect grace as everyone applauded her.

"Bravi!" They all said, all except for Carlotta, who glared at her and tried to throw the whole elephant at her.

"You just have to be the new star!" Firmin exclaimed. "Carlotta will have to live with being a chorus girl."

"But she can't dance!" protested Madam Giry.

"Then she won't be cast!" With that, everyone burst into laughter.

"_Wella, Ia hava betatera thingsa toa doa anayawaya! _which is translated: Well, I have better things to do anyway!" Carlota screeched. She stormed out of the opera, slamming the door behind her.

Aura beamed, causing her radiant beauty to glow even more. She was immediately moved into Christina's old dressing room, and she sat down on the bed.

She was so glad to be away from home, and she didn't miss it at all (though she did miss the poto movie and cds. I mean, who wouldn't?). Still, she was scarred practically for life, thanks to her terrible family, and she didn't know of anything that could ever fix that. She let out a melodious sigh and passed a delicate palm over her alabaster pale forehead.

Her beautiful full ruby-rose-red lips smiled as she let out a silvery laugh that sounded like a whole choir of angels had started singing, and cheered up everyone who heard her. Now that she was here, maybe she'd get to meet the Phantom!!


	2. Angel of Music

Chapter 2 – Angel of Music

**Wherein Aura is really sad and sings… a lot**

That night, Aura had this really awful dream. In it, she was back at home, and her mom and dad were there, telling her that she actually had to cut off her beautiful and perfect hair! Aura pleaded over and over and over, but they totally ignored her, because of course they hated her. They were soo jealous that she was so gorgeous and smart and gifted and they weren't, so now they were trying to take even that away from her! Then they ran after her with scissors and knives, so they could cut off her hair and scar her perfect complexioned face.

Aura woke up with a scream, and sat up in bed. But she hadn't been sweating, because that is, like, so gross. Her evil parents were gone, and she was safely alone in the room. She smiled and pushed back her hair that was still just as lovely as if she hadn't been asleep at all. At last she was safe, and among people who could actually appreciate her for the perfect person she was.

Still, the dream had really scared her, so she started singing to calm herself down. It was a beautiful song, and really sad, and she poured out her whole heart into it. Besides, it was by Evanescence, so it was obviously beautiful and sad and generally the perfect song for her to sing!

Her voice was beautiful, and sad, and as she sang, everyone that was awake was touched by its inspired beauty and sadness.

Especially Eric, who was listening from behind the mirror, couldn't help crying a little, because he knew that she was someone who was just as sad as him.

Once she was done, she lay down and cried herself to sleep.

She was wakened up by a special sense she had, that someone was there. She always had that ability, ever since she could remember, and always knew when someone was around that she wanted or needed to talk to. That was why she would always wake up when someone was about to call, or always snapped to attention just in time to hear a teacher's question she needed to answer.

She hurried out of bed and threw on her dressing gown. She actually had a whole wardrobe already. There had been a whole stash of old costumes that fit her perfectly that everyone was glad to give her, and all the chorus girls had gladly given her their things since they knew that of course they'd look so much better on her than on them, so she was way more deserving of them. And of course they'd gone on a long shopping trip, and Madam Giryy had bought her lots and lots of really fashionable clothes.

Her dressing gown was one of her favorites. Part of it was because it was so pretty. It was made all of pink and silver and gold lace, and sparkled every time she moved.

But she really liked it because it was less confining than the other clothes. The top came down nice and low in the front, and had loose and flowing sleeves and skirt, and there was a really long slit up the side that went almost all the way up her leg. She loved imagining what would happen when Erick finally saw her in it.

And her very special sense told her that Eric was coming, and was even almost there.

She arranged herself on the couch so she'd look like she couldn't sleep, but was also in a really beautiful position that would be sure to attract him.

She moved her skirt around so it looked natural and at the same time had the slit reveal as much leg as possible. And they were very extremely lovely and slender legs, and were the same color as the rest of her: an absolutely divine creamy silky color.

At last, she could feel him on the other side of the mirror. She caught her breath gracefully as she waited.

That's when he started singing in his really hot and beautiful and sexy and heavenly voice.

_Wandering child, so lost, so helpless,_

_Yearning for my guidance._

_Listen to me as I sing to you,_

_Let me lead you in my dance._

Aura smiled as she listened to him. This was like totally worth it. But of course she still wanted to see him even more, and to touch him even more than that. She sang back to him.

_Angel of music, I didn't know you,_

_I was so lost and lonely._

_This is the first time I have heard you,_

_I wish you'd come to me._

Erik sang back to her.

_Too long you've wandered in winter,_

_Dying for day after day._

_Now I have come to your rescue,_

_I'll be here each day!_

Aura swung her legs gracefully onto the floor and stood up. The skirt floated like a lacy cloud around her legs, and her hair cascaded like a shimmering sparkling waterfall down her back as she sang.

_Angel of music! Guide and guardian!_

_Stay by my side, guide me!_

_Angel, I love you, I will follow,_

_Anywhere that you go!_

Erick sang back in his dreamy voice.

_Wonderful angel you shall know me,_

_See why I came to your side._

_Look at your face in the mirror,_

_I am there inside!_

Aura sang again, letting herself get into a wonderful trance, her emerald orbs shining joyfully.

_Angel of music! Speak, I listen!_

_Grant to me your glory!_

_Angel of music! I must see you!_

_Let me see your face!_

Eric sang back with his seductive voice.

_I am your angel,_

_Come to me, Angel of music!_

Aura started walking toward the mirror. It was glowing, just like if a million light bulbs surrounded it, and even shone from inside it. She put out her hand, desperate to touch Gerik.

Eric kept singing.

_I am your Angel of music,_

_Come to your Angel of music!_

Aura walked through the mirror, and her hand was immediately held in Eric's. She smiled and blushed prettily and followed him as he led the way to his home.

He was really really really hot. She'd already known he was from watching the movie a thousand times, of course, but in person he was much much better. His black hair was so shiny and glossy and smooth, and his entire body was so toned and chiseled out absolutely perfectly.

And his eyes! Everytime he looked at her with those beautiful dreamy enchanting eyes, she nearly fainted from their wonderfulness. The only eyes in the world that were better were her own.

Then he let her ride on his horse, and she leaned over farther than she really needed to so she could tempt him with her low neckline. She smiled radiantly as she saw him smile at her incredible beauty.

Then they got to the boat, and she gracefully sat on the bottom, carefully arranging her skirt again. She watched him with her deep emerald orbs as he rowed across the lake. He sang lots and lots of beautiful songs, but she cared more about his voice and how absolutely wonderful and handsome and perfect and absolutely hot he looked than she was about what he actually sang.

Before she knew it, they were at the other shore, and Eric had lifted her out of the boat and kept singing to her. He was singing Music of the Night now, and he did it with the absolutely most entrancing voice ever.

What happened after that, Aura didn't really remember, she was that enchanted by his beautiful and voice and absolutely hot looks. All she remembered was them slowly making their way to the swan bed between lots and lots of really tender moves. And then she was asleep, and didn't wake up until morning.

**And that was chapter 2. Just so it gets said, the lyrics in this chapter were half mine, and half Andrew Lloyd Webber's (it should be pretty obvious which is which). **


	3. The Tragedy of Angst

Chapter 3 – The Tragedy of Angst

**Wherein Aura reveals her unrealistically tragic past and gets her first singing lesson**

That night, Aura woke up to the sound of beautiful quiet organ music playing some kind of really sad song. She listened breathlessly for a few minutes, then got out of bed and went outside of her room.

She was still wearing the pretty white dress from the day before, only now it was even more prettier because of all the pretty candlelight, and because she had carefully slid the neckline down over her shoulders, and as Erik looked at her, she could just imagine how beautiful he must think she looked.

Eric stopped playing and looked up as she entered. She was just so dazzlingly perfect in every way! he thought. What could he have ever seen in Christine? Because she'd been nothing to this lovely dreamlike Aura!

"Sorry, did I interrupt you?" she asked in soft tones, while fluttering her long lashes over her sparkling purple eyes.

Erik smiled and stood up (while Aura thought how absolutely hot he looked when he was standing), and went over and wrapped her in his strong, handsome arms. "You are more than worth it," he whispered.

Aura giggled and reached up to stroke his face. "I'm glad, because you're so worth it, too."

Eric put his hand over Aura's and looked into her silvery orbs while brushing back her golden hair with the other. "You're the best thing that's happened to me, Aura. I- I've never really lived before meeting you. Even Christine couldn't help! But you..."

"I know," Aura whispered. "But you've helped me even more. I didn't even want to live before I met you!"

"Oh, Aura!" Erik moaned, and pulled her closely against his chest.

At last, he drew back to look into her eyes again. It looked almost like there were tears in his eyes. "Aura, what could have happened to you that's more horrible than what happened to me? Surely no one could have done anything to such an angel as you!"

"Oh, but they have!" Aura exclaimed. "I was born as an orphan, then raised by my only birth mother who hated me so much that she made me do all the work around the house, even though I wasn't even 5 years old yet!"

Eric seemed to be starting to fight back tears from falling.

Aura broke into a long, angsty monologue that of course was completely true, and involved her parents dying five times, her nine sisters and eleven brothers dying many horrible deaths (after being alternately cruel to her and her only solace through her childhood), herself being an only child and entirely alone in the world, her being sold into slavery seven times, her favorite kitten being killed by four different serial killers, and everyone hating her throughout it all because they were jealous of how perfect she was. When she finally finished with her incredibly long monologue, Aura buried her face against Erik and sobbed her heart out.

Erik tried to comfort her, but he was crying uncontrollably, too, because her past was absolutely so sad, and even more tragic than his own! Her life was so terrible compared to merely growing up with cruel gypsies who constantly beat you up, people who laughed at you, and a horrible deformity that made it impossible for anyone to ever love you (except Aura, obviously). How could such a boring life ever compare to Aura's?!

After many hours, when they had both finally stopped crying, Eric kissed her hair and looked into her golden eyes. "Will you be all right, my darlingest dear?"

Aura nodded with a pretty sniffle. "Yes, I- I think so…" she let herself trail off as she gazed deeply into Erik's eyes. Finally, she spoke again. "But you know what would really help right now?"

Eric shook his head. "No, dearling. What?"

"If you teach me to sing."

Erik looked at her in surprise. "Teach you to sing? But Aura, you sing so incredibly beautifully already! If anything, you should totally be the one to be teaching _me_!"

Aura looked up at him in a very beautiful and very convincing pout, her emerald orbs shining like a pair of very large, very sad, and very pleading stars. "Please?"

Erick laughed and hugged her. "If it will make you happy, mon angel. I can't really resist those gorgeous orbs of yours anyway."

Aura grinned and darted gracefully to the organ. Erik followed and took a seat, carefully arranging his vast piles of music. "What would you like to sing?" he asked.

"I'd love to work on 'Think of Me,'" Aura said.

Erick nodded and pulled out the full _Hannibal_ libretto that he happened to have, and turned to the organ-accompaniment-only copy of "Think of Me," that he also happened to have. He played the opening notes, which were made astonishingly gorgeous by his humongous organ, and which nearly distracted Aura from beginning the song:

"_Think of me,_

_Think of me fondly,_

_When we say goodbye…"_

Erik suddenly stopped and looked over at Aura. She stopped singing and looked over at him. Erick frowned. "Hmm… perhaps this lesson wasn't such a bad idea after all…" he said to himself.

Aura looked at him in confusion. "What did I do wrong?"

"Aura," he began, "you have the most beautiful voice that exists in the entire world, and I believe I can safely say that despite having never heard most voices out there. But…" He hesitated. "Well, I think you've simply been caught by poor training in the past."

"But I've never had any training!" Aura said in surprise.

Erick nodded in very pleased surprise. "Bad listening, then," he amended. "First of all, I don't care that all the opera singers in the world use vibrato; it sounds horrible and I don't want you to use it any more."

Aura looked at him, once again confused. "What's vibrato?"

Eric sighed. "It's where your voice gets all weird and wobbly… Kind of like this…" And here he gave a very wobbled "Aah" which, just like he had said, sounded remarkably horrendous indeed. He then followed it up with a very pleasant "Aah," this time without the slightest hint of wobbling or shaking at all. "That," he said with a smile, "is what you want. It's completely pure and steady, and sounds remarkably beautiful. Now you try."

Aura followed suit by singing a remarkably straight "Aah" on a rather high note. Her throat began to hurt a little, but she figured that must mean that she was actually using it now. Still, just to be sure… "Eric? Um… Is it a good thing if my throat hurts when I sing?"

Erik laughed. "That would depend. If it hurts as though you were sick, then no, it's not good, since it probably means you're getting sick. If it hurts as though you were working it, then it's a very good thing, since that means you're actually using it."

"What if it's more… I don't know… strained?"

"Then that just shows you that you haven't used it enough yet. Don't worry, you'll get over that soon enough."

Aura nodded, glad that she was able to learn so much from Erik. "Is there anything else?"

"Just keep using your throat, since that's where the sound comes from," he replied. "You _might_ be tempted to use your stomach (which some people would call the diaphragm) when singing or breathing, but don't; it does you no good, prevents your throat from working properly, and generally looks quite unattractive."

Aura nodded. "All right, I think I have that down. Can I practice it on the end of 'Think of Me'? You know, the, um, whatever that thing's called? The cadenza-run-trill-high-legato-staccato-dip-scoop-belt-vibrato-wobble- vocal-shake-vocalize-dance thing?"

Erik raised his eyebrows at her, obviously extremely confused. "The _what_ thing?"

"You know… all those Ah's?"

Erick smiled. "Oh! You mean the intermezzo!" He turned the page and gave her the chord. "Anytime."

Aura launched straight into the intermezzo, being extremely careful not to use any wobble/vibrato or her stomach/diaphragm, but rather to fully use her silvery throat and a most remarkable straight and pure tone to allow her to float effortlessly through the gorgeous run of notes. At last, she ended triumphantly on the final high note, which was incredibly higher than the score actually called for, and ended with another incredible intermezzo.

As the music faded away, Ericc gazed at her breathlessly. "Aura," he breathed, "that was… that was far better than… than I'd ever even _dreamed_ that even _you_ could sing. That was just…" He took her hand with the utmost reverence. "Are you sure you didn't come to me from heaven? Because that is definitely the only place you can possibly belong."

Aura drifted into his arms, suddenly exhausted. It had been a long day, and her singing had surprised her even more than it had Erik.

They remained that way for a long time until at last, Eric kissed her hair and looked into her golden eyes. "Sleep will be good for both of us," he whispered.

Aura nodded, but didn't want to leave Erik's arms. They felt so good!

Eric began to sing a really beautiful haunting song, that was way better than Music of the Night, and carried her to the bed. But Aura was asleep even before she touched the bed.

**A brief disclaimer here: I do not endorse the idea of applying any of Erik's singing advice or information; any attempts to do so will be at your own risk. I also do not endorse the idea of calling the "Think of Me" cadenza an _intermezzo_.**


	4. Alone in the Darkness

Chapter 4 – Alone in the Darkness

**Wherein Aura changes her mind about Erik and has a rehearsal**

The next morning, Aura found herself laying in a beautiful bed surrounded by a lacy see-through black veil curtain. The whole bed was sparkling white, and she could just tell that the whiteness was making her glow with an absolutely gorgeous and perfect radiance. And even the mattress and blankets were like really really really soft clouds, and she felt like she could sleep on them all day and night.

She knew this bed! This was the swan bed, the same one that Christine had slept in!

She lay down in the bed and looked up at the lacy ceiling. She blushed as she remembered the night before. She'd really enjoyed this bed, hadn't she?

She jumped up and through the curtains and onto the floor, her raven black hair flowing out behind her like a dark breeze. He had done it, oh yes he'd done it, and boy was he ever going to pay.

She stomped out of the room, still looking as beautiful and enchanting as ever anyway, and went right up to Erick. "What did you do? Don't you know that it's an awful way to start the very first day?"

Erik grabbed her hand and looked into her eyes passionately. She could have given in to those perfect orbs, but she was of course waaaay too strong for that. "What did I do, my precious Aura, my sweet angel?"

Aura pulled away from his grasp. "Oh, you know what you did, you evil angel-demon-thing! You've ruined me! You know you're supposed to wait even one more day, but nooooo! Of course you rushed us way too fast! Well, I've had enough of this. I'm leaving!"

"Aura, wait! My sweet angel, I'd never do anything to hurt you! Please give me another chance, even at least one more!" Erik pleaded.

Aura looked back and scowled. "Yeah, sure, as if you really think I'd do that."

Still, his eyes were dreamy, and she'd only waited her entire life to see him. Oh, she really really really really really really really wanted to stay. There wasn't anyone even closely as hot as he was in the whole entire world!

No, she'd leave him. At least for now. She had to. How else could she get him to really respect her like he was supposed to?

"Please, don't go, Aura," Eric pleaded again. "I need you. I really need you more than any of my heart can say!"

"But you haven't said you love me, Erikc, and you know why? Because you don't! I know what you're thinking. You don't really love me! You only want me so you can stay happy all the time, even if I'm not happy! So why should I stay with you?"

"Aura, that totally isn't true!" Eric exclaimed. "Please believe me!"

"What about Christine? You tried to do the same thing to her as you're doing to me."

"No, that isn't true, my precious sweet lovely angelic angel! Please believe me! I never loved Christine as I love you!" He ran over and pulled her tightly against his chest. "Don't leave me, I couldn't live without you!"

Aura pulled away. She was determined to leave. It would only strengthen their love, after all. "Learn to live without me, Erik. I have." With that, she stalked away, leaving him alone in the darkness.

She walked angrily through the dark passageways that were brilliantly lit up by the clear radiance of her complexion. How dare he do that to her?! Didn't he know that that wasn't the way to win over a girl's heart? She'd won his very easily, and now she'd let him win hers. Yes, he'd have to earn it.

She swished her lovely long blondish-reddish-goldish-brownish-auburnish-ravenish-blackish-pearlish hair back over her shoulder, making it cascade down her back like an absolutely stunning waterfall. Her bright green eyes sparkled in the darkness, and her silky skirt swished musically as she walked. Oh yes, she'd definitely make him earn her love.

Meanwhile, little did she know, but Carlotta was plotting her revenge. "_Oha, thata stupida Aura whatevera hera namea isa isa totallya goinga toa paya fora ruininga mea! I'lla bea backa, anda thata Aura willa diea!_ (Oh, that stupid Aura whatever-her-name-is is totally going to pay for ruining me! I'll be back, and that Aura will die!)"

* * *

The next day was the rehearsal for the play Hannibal. Everyone was there, and they were all doing terrible except for Aura, because of course Aura could never do badly in anything. 

In the first scene, the elephant kept falling over about a million times, the dancers kept tripping over their skirts, and Piangy sounded even worse than Carlotta, but Aura still was beautifully stunning in everything she did. She hit every single note perfectly, and even better than perfectly, and even smiled sweetly when her long skirt was stepped on by the clumsy chorus people.

"Cut!" shouted one of the managers. Everyone stopped and looked at him. "We need to go to act three. We can fix the rest of this later, but it's very important that we make Aura's solo perfect in every way."

Everyone nodded in agreement, and ran from the stage to leave Aura alone. The sets were put up, and Aura nervously stepped center stage.

"I can do this," she whispered under her breath. "I've, like, totally sung this at least a thousand times… it can't possibly be possible to mess up now, can it?"

"Okay, start the aria!"

The piano started to play, and Aura felt even more nervous. It's not like she needed to be, of course, because she was so beautiful and perfect, and everyone would love her no matter what she did, but she was still nervous for some reason. She flicked back her shimmering radiant hair over her shoulder and began to sing.

_Think of me, think of me fondly,_

_When we say goodbye…_

Everyone stopped what they were doing and listened, put in another enchanted spell by her floating silvery voice. She was wearing the sparkly white dress, and her shining shimmering hair swept down her back, and her eyes were sparkling like two brilliant orb-like stars, and the lights were blue and she looked exactly like an angel.

"She is the most beautiful angel in existence," people whispered.

"No," said others. "She's _way_ too beautiful to be an angel."

Aura did not hear them, too entranced by her own beautiful voice. She looked up at box five, because maybe she might see Erick up there. He wasn't there, but she looked anyway, because it was a beautifully angsty thing to do.

She had just got to the ahhs when suddenly she heard a scream. Her spell was broken, and everyone started to run around in circles trying to figure out what the scream was. "It's the Phantom!" they screamed.

Aura didn't panic, though, because not only was she beautiful, but she was really smart, and always knew exactly what to do. Besides, she knew it wasn't her Erik that had caused the scream. How could it be? He could never do something as awful as make someone scream!!

She ran to her room and grabbed her cloak, then ran outside the Opera Populaire. It was cold and snowing outside, and she had to grab her skirts daintily to avoid ruining her costume.

It was a very good thing that she still had on her normal shoes, because she had lots and lots of extra shoes, and these were already getting wet. She shivered, because though she was very delicate and slender, her dress wasn't made to be worn outside, and icy wind is very cold!

She ran through the icy streets, only able to keep going because she had perfect balance. Everyone stopped and stared at her as she passed, but she didn't really notice. She was too obsessed with figuring out where the scream had come from.

She ran up one street and down another, finally ending up back at the front of the Opera house. She paused a moment to catch her breath, and suddenly everything turned black.


	5. The Escape!

Chapter 5 – The Escape!

**Wherein Aura finds herself captured and reveals her untrained karate skills**

"What are we going to do with her?" said a mysterious voice.

"She's definitely too beautiful to kill," said another mysterious voice.

"Yeah, well, we _were_ told to get rid of her."

Aura heard everything they said, since she was finally waking up, but she stayed perfectly still. She didn't dare let them know she could hear them! She knew that someone must have kidnapped her, but she didn't even know how, or where they were!

Suddenly she heard a voice she recognized.

"_Dida youa geta hera? _(Did you get her?)" asked Carlotta.

There was very mean and sinister laughter. "Yes, we have her right here."

"_Gooda_ (Good)." Carlotta smiled and looked down at Aura. "I'ma surea she'lla bea wakinga upa soona (I'm sure she'll be waking up soon)."

"What do we do? We can't let her give us away."

"_Doa whata youa needa to doa! _(Do what you need to do!)" Carlotta snapped, and stalked away, punching the door on her way out.

Aura snapped to attention. She knew what that meant! They were going to kill her, and then she'd never ever ever get to see her hot Erik ever _again_!!!1!!

She jumped to her feet and glared at the two really strong looking men. "How dare you get between me and my precious Erik!" she shouted.

The two men were obviously surprised to see that she was actually awake, but they laughed anyway.

"You and your precious Erik?" One of them mocked, still laughing helplessly.

The other man quickly stopped laughing and hit the other on the back. "If we really did come between you two, then I guess you should be thanking us," he said coolly.

Aura narrowed her eyes, a sure sign that she was ready to be extremely dangerous to both of them. "Thanking you? For taking me away from the man I love, and trying to kill me?"

The first man, who was short and stout along with very incredibly strong looking, nodded, still snickering. He shrugged. "He couldn't have been all that great, anyway."

The other man, who was incredibly tall, elbowed the short man harshly in the ribs, but Aura was already diving for him. "Take that back!" she cried indignantly.

"He certainly didn't mean it that way!" the tall man said hastily, in a suddenly very high and very very squeaky voice. "He- he meant that…"

"I know what he meant," Aura declared, quickly standing from her mid-air position to take a gorgeously defiant pose, "and I cannot tolerate it!"

"Why not?" asked the short man, still smiling rather stupidly.

At this, Aura let out a high karate call of "Hi-YAH!!!!" She let it soar in the air for a bit as a testament to her truly beautiful, angelic voice, before taking a menacing karate stance: her feet apart and her bent arms stiffly held in front of her face at a wide angle. She smiled serenely, moving her gaze from one opponent to the other.

Two pairs of eyes flew wide open in terror, and they both sprang back. They certainly didn't need to be told that she was clearly dangerous.

"Don't hurt us! It wasn't our fault!" they pleaded, but it was no use. Aura was not about to let them get away.

She leaped toward them, arms and legs moving swiftly in a deadly dance, her movements incredibly skilled considering she had never taken karate before in her life. Her left foot caught the short man in the mouth and her right arm met the tall man in the shoulder. She landed directly in front of them, but her limbs would not rest. They continued to move, repeatedly landing blows on both men in a flurry of movement.

The short man crouched in terror, but the other man tried to fight back. He blocked a particularly harsh blow and sent a fist into her stomach. Aura felt nothing, however, and silently thanked the costumers for making her wear such a stiff corset as she countered with a high kick to his ear.

"Get up here and fight, you coward!" the tall man gasped as he returned the kick with a surprisingly weak blow.

The short man whimpered, but just as Aura blocked another hit from the tall man, she felt a sharp blow in her leg. She released a swift kick, and the short man was out cold. She smirked and turned her full attention to the tall man.

"Noooo!!" he exclaimed, and began pounding at her furiously.

She held out her arm in a firm position and blocked every single one of his attacks. Suddenly she did a triple flip backward and landed in yet another menacing position with both arms fully extended. The man rushed her, and she spun out of the way; a couple of twirls later, she sent another blow to his head.

She twirled gracefully a couple more times and did a prolonged, slow-motion kicking flip over his head. "Still glad you took me away from my love?" she said with a smirk as she landed.

The man squeaked around for an answer, but he had no chance to respond. She did a cartwheel and a triple flip, spun around menacingly two times, flipped and spun again for good measure, and ended the fight with a final deft blow to his head.

As he crumpled to the ground, she gently brushed a single strand of hair behind her ear.

"Oh," she moaned, "I really really really _really_ would have preferred it if Erik were here to protect me. It's sooo much easier to let him do all my fighting so I don't have to mess up my perfect appearance!" Fortunately, there was a mirror nearby, and she quickly ran over and looked at herself.

Her shining auburn hair glistened in the dim light, and her delicate Hannibal dress was still in perfect condition. She brushed her hand over the skirt just to be sure, then froze. "Oh!" she wailed. "I've broken a nail!!"

* * *

When she entered the Opera later, everyone gasped. Everything about her still looked perfect, and she was still pale and she didn't have a single strand of hair out of place, but she still looked very upset to them. A bunch of people ran over and led her to the most comfortable and most elegant chair in the room. 

"What happened?" one of them asked.

"Carlotta," Aura said, then fainted dramatically into the arms of the most handsome man there, her arms gracefully spread over his shoulders and her head leaning back against his shoulder. Her last thought was "Oh, why did I ever leave Erik? I love him soooo much, and I ran away from him! But he'll still come and rescue me, I know he will!"

Eric watched everything that happened, and he growled. How dare Carlotta hurt Aura! He would make Carlotta pay, and Carlotta would be forced to love Aura forever and ever, because there was no way that anyone could not love Aura!!!11!!!11!


	6. Erik to the Rescue!

Chapter 6 – Erik to the Rescue!

**Wherein Erik continues to act out of character while helping Aura**

Eric dramatically swished his cape so that it flew like a midnight shadow around his muscular shoulders and his ankles, because cape-swishing was totally the coolest thing he could possibly do. Then he darted through the lots of secret passageways, searching each room he passed for Carlotta… or for anything else that could possibly endanger his everlastingly beloved Aura.

It didn't take him long. Carlotta was already in one of the empty dressing rooms, fixing her hair in the mirror. He stopped to watch, muttering angrily to himself about having to watch from behind the mirror, otherwise known as directly in front of Carlotta.

"_Whata doa youa meana shea escapeda?!_ (What do you mean, she escaped?!)" she screamed, whirling away from the mirror with a crash.

Erik winced at the screechy sound of her voice and resisted the urge to cover his ears.

"B-but there was nothing we could do!" protested the ugly man who was in the room with her. "We tried-"

"_Noa! _(No!)" Carlotta grabbed a spare hair pin and jabbed it sharply into the table beside her. "_Ifa shea gota awaya, clearlya youa dida nota trya harda enougha!_ (If she got away, clearly you did not try hard enough!)"

The man winced and jumped across the room. "W-well, _I_ certainly tried hard enough…"

Erik watched and listened with great alarm. Surely they were not talking about his truly beloved Aura!

"_Therea werea twoa ofa youa, noa?_ (There were two of you, no?)" Carlotta demanded. The man nodded fearfully. "_Thena whya coulda youa nota worka togethera! _(Then why could you not work together!)"

The man leaped to the side to hover in the farthest corner from her. "She was so difficult…" he stammered helplessly before Carlotta interrupted again.

"_Noa excusesa! Ia ama almosta losinga alla ofa mya patience witha youa anda youra helplessa partnera!_ (No excuses! I am almost losing all of my patience with you and your helpless partner!)" She turned as if to leave.

"But Madame La Carlotta," he attempted again, "you didn't even see her… what she could do! We tried and fought and everything, but she could have killed us! She- She's practically not even human!"

Carlotta turned around dangerously and looked at him with fiery eyes. "_Whata?_ (What?)" she asked in such a dark tone that even Erik felt an involuntary shudder.

The man visibly shuddered, but he responded valiantly all the same. "That girl… karate… she- she's the most skilled karate master I have ever seen! Probably the best in the world! We didn't stand a chance!"

"_Area youa surea?_ (Are you sure?)" Carlotta asked with a growl.

"Yes! I'm sure it was Aura!"

Now, the mention of Aura's name received quite a mixed reaction, particularly from Erik and Carlotta.

On Erik's side, at first he was horrified that it really was Aura they were talking about. How could these people hate her so much? But suddenly, he caught his breath and his hand flew to his heart. _Aura can do incredible karate moves?_ He thought. _Wow, she's totally more cool than I thought!_ He continued to watch the scene with renewed love for Aura. After all, ANYONE who knew cool karate moves was totally worth falling in love with.

Carlotta, on the other hand, was instantly angrier than either Erik or the ugly man had thought humanly possible. Erik thought vaguely that she looked very much like a tornado, especially with her dark dress topped with red hair and a rapidly reddening face.

"_Thena, youa musta trya hardera! _(Then, you must try harder!)" Carlotta insisted. "_Ifa Ia doa nota havea hera tonighta, youa willa alla diea, anda I'lla finda someonea elsea toa doa thea joba!_ (If I do not have her tonight, you will all die, and I'll find someone else to do the job!)" Carlotta screamed and threw some nearby vases against the wall as she stormed out of the room.

She stopped once at the door to hurl a final screech at the ugly man. "_Ora bettera yeta, Ia willa doa ita myselfa!_ (Or better yet, I will do it myself!)"

Having said this, she really did leave the room, but not before smashing the rest of the vases, the huge mirror Erik was standing behind, half of the desk, and a huge pile of costumes against the wall. Erik grabbed the destroyed costumes and used them to cover up the new hole between him and the dressing room while the ugly man stared after Carlotta in shock.

"Now that just…" the man sputtered.

"She can't be serious!" exclaimed the other man in the room.

The ugly man turned to the other man and nodded darkly. "Yes, she can… unfortunately." He growled and a sudden glint entered his eyes. "But, I have some friends with me who can help brilliantly." He pulled out a black pistol and spun it wildly, yanked out a shiny jewel-studded sword from his hidden sheath, whipped out a collapsible bow and arrows set, followed that with a miniature crossbow, revealed a menacing blowgun with matching poisonous darts, and, as a grand finale, pulled out a flashing knife and plunged it into the table, right into a picture of Aura that happened to be sitting there. "We use these, and she won't be disappointed," he said with a laugh.

That was it for Erick. He shoved aside the tattered costumes and valiantly leapt into the room, his cloak dramatically draping around him like a smooth shadow. He pulled out his Punjab and angrily walked toward the ugly man. "What do you think you're doing?" he asked in a really hotly cool voice.

"W-w-w-what do you mean?" the ugly man stuttered. "I-I-I wasn't doing a-anything!"

"Yeah, right. I heard you!" Erik threw the rope around his neck and pulled it tight. He grinned, making his face even hotter than before. "Nothing said in MY opera is secret," he hissed.

The man paled. "B-but I did nothing!"

"Stop saying that! I heard you! _Everything_!" He pulled the rope tighter.

"E-everything?" the man asked with a gulp. The other man dove under the half-destroyed desk.

"Yes," Erik said.

The man grabbed the Punjab and tried to pull it away from his neck. "B-but I haven't even done anything yet! This must be some kind of mistake!" The other man tried to help his case by pulling the blowgun and the arrows under the desk.

Erik growled and gave a sudden yank, sending the man to his knees. "You were going to. You were going to try to hurt my beloved Aura, and _no one_ can get away with _that_!"

The ugly man, lost on how to respond to that, grabbed for a nearby piece of the shattered mirror and held it up threateningly. "Please, let me go! I'm not afraid to use this!"

This had an effect, but not what he was expecting. Erik promptly loosened his grip on the rope as he caught sight of his masked face in the mirror shard. "No…" he said under his breath.

The ugly man took his cue and began to pull the rope off. Erik quickly snapped back to attention and tightened the rope again with a final yank, this time forcing the man into his face. "Don't touch my Aura!" he hissed, "or you will die!"

He yanked the rope away and disappeared in a really awesome cloud of smoke, leaving the ugly man gasping for breath, and the mirror miraculously restored to its former condition of glory and usefulness.

Erik stopped for a moment and scowled very extremely coolly hotly to himself. "What's wrong with these people?" he thought. "Aura's the most beautiful, talented, lovely, dreamy, exquisite, wonderful, charming, desirable, likeable, loveable, gorgeous, ethereal, _perfect_ person in the _whole entire world_, even more than Christine could ever have even dreamed of _hoping_ to be, and they want to kill her! People are just so stupid sometimes! I need to take Aura back with me to my home so she can be safe!"

He did one of his really cool cape swishes and ran through his secret passageways to where Aura was. He stopped when he arrived and let himself drink in her stunning beauty. Her shimmering, sparkly hair spilled across the top half of the bed like a stunning auburn waterfall, causing her to shine with a radiant beauty, lighting up the entire room so it was brighter than even the brightest day. Eric happily let out a lovesick sigh. Then he gathered her in his arms and carried her graceful form to his house. He laid her in the swan bed and stepped back with a cute smile on his face.

"Sweet dreams, Aura," he said in his beautiful enchanting ethereal voice. "And… I love you."


	7. The Beautiful Dream

Chapter 7 – The Beautiful Dream

**Wherein Aura has a sappy dream before having an equally cheesy scene with Erik**

Aura woke up from a beautiful, wonderful, perfectly gorgeous dream. She sighed on a lovely trill of notes as she remembered her dream.

"_Did they hurt you?" Erik asked._

_Aura bravely shook her head, though her arm was bleeding profusely at an alarming rate. "No, I'm perfectly fine."_

_Erik caught her as she nearly fell over from all the blood she had lost. "Aura!" he gasped. "Your arm… it's terribly hurt!"_

_Aura nodded faintly. She couldn't feel her arm, though wasn't that typical of dreams?_

_Erik grabbed a few towels, his favorite set of napkins and a sheer table cloth and pressed them against her arm. "I'm sorry if this hurts," he said with his usual musical smoothness, "but I can stop once the bleeding stops." He pressed a little harder as he let his fingers lovingly caress her radiant, smooth skin._

_Aura shook her head, trembling at the feel of his warm fingers. Their very softness and warmth gave her a comfort that she had never felt before. He soon bandaged her arm with incredible care and tenderness, and she felt nothing but joy at his touch, injured arm or not._

_She started as his hands finally left her. "No… don't stop," she whispered._

_Erik looked at her, a sudden radiant joy and… something (Aura excitedly wondered if it was love… was it?) entering his eyes. "No, I will never stop!" he declared with a sudden burst of passion, and threw his arms around her._

_Aura shrieked in delight and twisted her arms around his back, letting her cheek rest against his bare cheek and her hands on his sides. Then she slowly pulled herself back until her hands rested on his cheeks. The horrible porcelain of his mask froze her fingers, and she tore it off. Eric looked at her in fear and horror at first, but because she didn't care about his hideous, gross, disgusting, horrific deformity, he suddenly became joyous and entirely happy._

"_Oh, Aura, you really do care for me! But how can you not care about… what's under the mask?"_

_Aura laughed lightly, the sound echoing enchantingly throughout the magical cavern. "Because I love you too much! Nothing could ever make you ugly to me!"_

"_Oh, Aura!" he gushed. He pressed her gracefully slender body against his muscular chest and let their lips meet in a fantastic display of passion._

Aura smiled to herself. Yes, it had been such a beautiful dream. The only thing that made it sad, though, was that she had woken up.

At this thought, she suddenly burst into tears. Wasn't that just the way it always worked? Who cares what she wanted; she never got it anyway! Life brought her nothing but sadness and horror! She cried even harder, even though she'd already shed enough tears to drench her entire dress and bed and to cover the entire floor with an inch of salty water. "But why me?!" she wailed.

At that moment, the door was thrust open, and Erik splashed into the room. His face was quickly filled with distress as he saw how incredibly sad she was. "Aura!"

"Erik!" she cried, and immediately thrust herself into his arms.

Erik's entire front half was now as drenched as Aura herself was, but he scarcely noticed. He gathered her up into his arms and carried her outside where it was a bit drier. He simply held her for a while until at last her plaintive wails had died down to mostly quiet sobs, then he took off his dressing gown (leaving him completely shirtless, of course) and draped it around her shivering shoulders.

Aura smiled a little in appreciation, though whether it was because he had warmed her up a little, or because he was now completely shirtless and bare-chested, she couldn't tell.

Erik pulled her head to rest on his shoulder, and let his hand stroke her arm. "What's wrong, my little song-bird?" he asked.

Aura lightly shook her head. "I- I just had a bad dream, that's all."

Erik nodded with a little smile. "I know, but it's over now. I'm here, Aura, and it can't hurt you anymore."

"But that's just it! It's over!"

"So it was a good dream, then?"

"It _was_. Oh Erik, I…" Aura stopped herself and blushed. She couldn't tell him about the dream!

Erik let his free hand stray up to her hair and gently stroked it. "Perhaps we can give you another good dream now that you are awake? A dream in real life is far better than one we have only imagined."

Aura's eyes widened. Did he mean-? No, certainly not! "What kind of good dream?" she asked cautiously.

"What sort of good dream would you like?"

"Something wonderful, something so wonderful I can't even imagine what it is. Or…"

Erik held her out a little so he could look deeply into her eyes. She caught her breath at the radiant depth of his own, and nearly missed what he had to say.

"Aura," he began sincerely, "please know that I… I love you, and I always will. I'll always be here to protect you and take care of you, and I will _never_ let anything happen to you."

Aura caught her breath, for once finding herself completely unable to breath. "Erik, I- I had no idea! That- that was exactly what my dream was about! But I never once thought…"

Erik laughed and pulled her back in again. "Oh, it's perfectly true, my lovely angel. I loved you from the moment I first saw you, and found myself bewitched by your enchanting voice. You are an angel beyond imagining and possibility, and I can only wonder how you were let out of heaven to come to a poor, horrific man like me."

"But you're such an angel, too! Maybe even more than I am! Oh Erik, can't you see that?" She drew back and gently removed his mask, then kissed him tenderly on his twisted cheek. "I don't care about this, and I even love it far more than the mask! The only horror you own is that terrible mask that covers up the beauty underneath!"

Erik gazed into her eyes in joyous surprise. "You mean it?" She nodded, and he grinned with crazy love. "Then I shall never wear that awful thing again!" He grabbed it and thrust it into the lake, and they both watched as it sank with a satisfactory splash.

Once it had disappeared, he grabbed her again and anchored his hand firmly behind her head. Aura gasped as she realized what he was doing and closed her eyes, trying to look as passionate as all the paintings of lovers she had seen. But nothing ever touched her lips. Instead, they were interrupted by a screeching voice.

"_Whata isa goinga ona herea?!_ (What's going on here?!)"


	8. An Unwanted Intruder

Chapter 8 – An Unwanted Intruder

**Wherein Erik defends Aura in a rather unconventional fight**

Aura let out a gasp as she recognized Carlotta coming toward them. She was in an awful rage right now, and looked more hideous than ever!

Erik boldly stepped forward. "What do you want with my beautiful, beloved Aura?" he demanded.

Carlotta snarled as she continued to advance. "_Shea trieda toa destroya mya joba and mya singinga! Ia ama thea stara herea, nota thisa horriblea, wretcheda, uglya thinga!!!!!!!!!!!_ (She tried to destroy my job and my singing! I am the star here, not this horrible, wretched, ugly thing!)"

Aura shivered and huddled against Erik. He put his arm protectively around her; it felt so warm and safe and protected and romantic!

"You have no business with her," Erik said in a deep growl, which still managed to be incredibly hot despite its clear sinisterness.

Carlotta narrowed her eyes and splashed clumsily closer. "_Yesa, Ia doa! Ita isa youa whoa havea noa businessa witha hera!_ (Yes, I do! It is you who have no business with her!)"

Erik whipped out his Punjab and showed it to Carlotta. "Do you really want to know what this feels like?"

Carlotta recoiled in fear, but then blinked it away and moved forward again, splashing through the water more noisily and clumsily than ever. "_Ia don'ta carea! Youa area foolisha!_ (I don't care! You are foolish!)"

"No one threatens me!" Erik declared, proudly thrusting his chest out. Aura nodded to affirm his declaration, though she was rather distracted by the rippling muscles that were now clearly displayed.

"_Anda noa onea threatensa mea! Leta mea takea carea of hera! _(And no one threatens me! Let me take care of her!)"

"No!" insisted Erik again, once again whipping out the Punjab lasso threateningly.

This continued on for what must have been hours. Carlotta insulted Erik and Aura with every imaginable name, insult and false accusation that was imaginable, and Erik bravely defended both himself and Aura from Carlotta's horrible attacks.

This was all incredibly exciting to Aura for a while; she loved getting to watch Erik defend her. He was so hot and good-looking and romantic and all-around perfect while doing it that she scarcely even paid attention to anything else.

Just when she was getting bored of the fight, it _finally_ took an exciting turn. Erik and Carlotta were barely inches apart, and Aura could feel Carlotta's hot, disgusting breath on her bare neck and shoulders.

Suddenly, with a particularly loud and nasty insult, Carlotta grabbed Aura and threw her away from Erik.

Aura nearly fell, but was harshly held up by Carlotta's sharp fingernails. "Let me go!" she cried, but Carlotta's firm grasp on her wrist only grew more painful. She looked imploringly at Erik, using her incredibly long, black eyelashes to make her shimmering, star-like eyes as large and sad and pleading as possible.

Erik looked at Aura in horrified concern, then back at Carlotta. "No one touches my Aura!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" he screamed.

He rushed forward and thrust his fist at her head, but she blocked it with her leg while using her free arm to punch him directly in the stomach. Erik curled over, but not without hitting Carlotta's shoulder. Carlotta kicked Aura in the shins with a pair of sharp shoes, then used those same shoes to kick Erik repeatedly in his side. Erik spun around and caught Carlotta on the ear with his fist, but she responded by brutally kicking him directly on his deformed cheek. There was an awful sound on impact, but Erik was right back into the fight with another hit to Carlotta's jaw.

Aura screamed in horror when she noticed that Carlotta was now focusing all of her attacks directly on Erik's deformed face, and that he was visibly weakening. She quickly darted between Carlotta and Erik, catching a particularly fierce kick in her shin.

"Don't you dare touch him again!"

"_Youa sillya girla! Youa shalla nota geta ina mya waya anya morea!_ (You silly girl! You shall not get in my way any more!)"

Having said this, Carlotta promptly threw Aura into the lake.

By this time, Erik had fully recovered his strength, and had even miraculously half-healed himself. He glared at Carlotta and valiantly dove into the water after Aura.

Aura felt herself slipping under the water, suddenly unable to save herself. Her leg was starting to hurt, no doubt thanks to Carlotta's kick, and this had caused her to be completely immobile. _Erik! Help me!_

Suddenly, she felt two strong, muscular arms grab her and pull her into the sweet air above the water. She gasped prettily for air, and threw her arms around Erik. "Thank you!" she cried.

"Not now!" he reminded her, and just in time, because a candlestick had just splashed into the water beside them.

"_Ha! Youa area nota soa stronga nowa!_ (Ha! You are not so strong now!)" Carlotta mocked, and picked up another candlestick.

"Hurry, Erik! She's throwing your candlesticks at us!"

"I don't mind losing them if I can still have you," he whispered, gently stroking her hair.

Aura smiled. "You know what I mean."

"Of course, but you know what I mean as well."

Another candlestick splashed into the water, a little closer this time.

"Come, we don't have much time," Erik said, and began swimming the two of them back to shore.

Aura watched fearfully as Carlotta picked up another candlestick and hurled it across the water. She cringed as it hit Erik's head with a _thud!_

A roar of anguished rage tore out of Erik's mouth and aimed right at Carlotta, pushing her against the hard wall and knocking her out.

"Erik!" Aura's shriek sounded on a pure high note that reached much, much, much, much, much higher than existed on a piano.

Erik looked up at her with sorrowful, tender eyes that were filled with endless love and pain. The wounded side of his face looked horrible by now, and the entire lake had turned red.

He smiled weakly. "It's only a flesh wound," he whispered, and fell against her shoulder.

"Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" she screamed. She desperately pulled him the entire two feet to shore and pulled him over the edge. "Erik, you can't leave me! You can't!!"

A shadow fell over them, and Aura looked up with another musical gasp.

"Muahahahahahahahahahaa!!!!!!!" The horrendously evil laugh came from none other than Carlotta who had already revived herself and was now standing menacingly above the pitiful-looking pair. "_Soa! Whoa isa strongera nowa!_ (So! Who is stronger now!)" she mocked.

"Carlotta, you can't do this!" Aura sobbed.

"_Oha, yesa Ia cana! Anda Ia finallya havea youa! Ata lasta Ia shalla havea mya revengea!!_ (Oh, yes I can! And I finally have you! At last I shall have my revenge!)"

Aura gently patted her graceful white hand against Erik's healthy cheek. "Erik, please, wake up! Oh, please wake up, my love!"

The evil laugh sounded again. "_Hea shalla nota wakea upa, youa sillya girla! Hea hasa finallya leta mea havea youa, anda ata lasta Ia cana doa toa youa whata Ia havea wanteda toa doa evera sincea Ia firsta meta youa!_ (He shall not wake up, you silly girl! He has finally let me have you, and at last I can do to you what I have wanted to do ever since I first met you!)"

"NOOO!" Aura shrieked, but this time, there was no need. Something wonderful flashed by her, and Erik was suddenly standing firmly between herself and Carlotta.

"Touch her, and you will die," Erik said in the deepest voice imaginable.

"_Nevera!_ (Never!)" Carlotta declared, and grabbed a candlestick. Oh, she didn't grab just any candlestick either. She grabbed the biggest, sharpest, pointiest, brightest, fieriest, hottest candlestick that has ever been made.

"Erik!"

Erik whipped out his flashing sword, and clashed its blade against the candlestick. "Touch her, and you will die," he repeated.

With a terrible scream, Carlotta parried his sword and moved to attack Erik. But he was too quick for her, and blocked the candlestick with his Punjab lasso. She tried again, but he blocked her by swishing his long, flowing cape. He thrust his sword at her, but it bounced right off her. She growled and attacked him again, and yet again he blocked it with his sword. He thrust the hilt into her wrist, and she countered by stomping on his arm. He Punjabbed her ankle, and she harshly attacked his cape with her sharp fingernails while simultaneously singeing his sword with the candlestick. He attacked her face with his cape as he Punjabbed her nails, and she ran her elbow into his arm and shoved the candlestick against his boots.

He hurled the Punjab at her neck, but found it immediately burned to pieces by her candles. He quickly used his cape as an impromptu Punjab, but it burned even more quickly. She thrust the lighted end of the candlestick at his face, but he ducked just in time to miss the flames and used his sword to swipe off the bottom inch of her dress. He then sent his blade to her waist but it again bounced off, this time catching Erik in the stomach with its hilt. He staggered backward just long enough for her to slap him sharply across the face.

The slap was more than he could take, and he immediately fell to the floor, completely unconscious.


	9. Happy Endings Right?

Chapter 9 – Happy Endings… Right?

**Wherein it all ends happily… or does it?**

As Erik's unconscious body fell to the ground, Aura let out a cadenza sigh, and knelt beside him with his hand to her cheek.

"Erik, don't leave me!"

She gasped as the base of a candlestick suddenly sat on Erik's chest. She glared up at Carlotta.

"How dare you!!!" she screamed.

Carlotta was about to give a particularly evil response, but she was cut off by a fist hitting her sharply in the mouth.

Aura pulled her hand back in with lightning rapidity and took a particularly menacing karate pose. "How dare you!" she screamed again, somehow managing to keep her voice beautiful nonetheless. "You are angry with me, so why attack him? What has he ever done to you?!"

"_Hea gota ina mya waya,_ (He got in my way,)" Carlotta replied coldly. "_Hea deserveda whata hea gota!_ (He deserved what he got!)"

"No, he didn't! His only crime was to love me, and even that is no crime! If you wish to kill him for loving me, then I'll have to do the same to you!"

Carlotta stared back in shock at the incredible wit of Aura's last statement. Aura smirked to herself and darted forward with a vengeance.

It was a horrible exchange of blows. Carlotta's candlestick flashed in a hypnotic display of fire, and Aura's attacks matched its rhythm with the utmost perfection. _Twirl, hit, twist, kick, twirl, hit_…

On and on it continued, each twirl matched with a hit and each new twist matched with an expert kick. It couldn't last long though, as the candlestick was steadily growing shorter. Each blow from Aura missed Carlotta entirely, but every single blow also took off another sliver of the candlestick.

Suddenly, when the stick had been taken out of the candlestick, Aura stopped and grabbed the candles from Carlotta. "This is no more than you deserve!" she declared, and thrust the candles at Carlotta.

At first, nothing happened. Then, just like that awful scene from _Return of the King_ (the same scene that, until now, Aura had always hated with a passion), the flames burst out, completely surrounding Carlotta in their fiery heat.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHa!!!!!!!!!" With that last scream of agony, Carlotta rushed into the lake to douse the flames, never to return again.

Aura stepped back, watching the results of her incredibly brilliant move in shock. She could feel a searing pain on her cheek, but that scarcely mattered now. "Erik!" she cried.

She rushed over and fell to her knees beside him. He was still unconscious.

"Oh, Erik," she sobbed, "how can you leave me! Please, don't leave! I can't live without you!"

Erik's eyes fluttered open. They were filled with such pain and horrible agony and terror. "Aura?" he moaned, so quietly that she barely even heard him.

"I'm here, Erik." She put his hand to her cheek and let it soak in her tears. "I'm sorry for leaving you, Erik!"

"You never left me, angel."

"Yes I did. I left when I fought Carlotta… but she's gone now, Erik. I- I don't think she'll ever come back again."

Erik smiled very weakly. "I'm proud of you, my little song-angel." He closed his eyes and sighed, then opened them again. "I… must leave you."

"No! You mustn't!"

Erik nodded with his eyes. "Yes… yes, I… must." His voice by now had faded so much that, if Aura hadn't had such incredible hearing, she never could have heard him. "Be… strong… A-Aura…"

"You can't!" she cried, sobbing like never before.

"Aura," he barely managed. "I….. lo.. love…. you…….." And with that, his eyes closed and he stopped breathing.

Aura clasped his hand tightly and cried more than she ever had in her entire life. Her tears covered the entire floor with a full six inches of water, and the lake very nearly flooded its banks.

At last, she wiped her eyes and caressed his face. "I love you, too," she whispered, and let her lips meet his own in the most passionate kiss she had ever even dreamed of.

She couldn't quite describe what happened next. As she finally drew away from his lips, it was as if a magical spark jumped from her lips to his. She jumped back and gingerly put her hand to her mouth, unsure of what had just happened. She jumped back even more as Erik rapidly opened his eyes, sat up and pressed her body against his own.

"Erik!" she gasped.

He laughed. "Yes, it is I." He squeezed her tightly, then held her out to meet her eyes. "What's wrong?"

"You- you… I thought you were…"

"Well, clearly I wasn't." He laughed, but stopped as a shadow rushed across his face. "But Aura, your face. What happened?"

Aura questioned him with her eyes. "What about my face?"

He gently put his fingers against her right cheek, and she cringed at the sudden pain she felt.

"You must have hurt it earlier in the fight." His eyes darkened. "If I ever see her again…"

"No, Erik! It's all right! I… No, it's not important. I can bear it."

"But the very thought of my precious angel…"

"But it can't be that bad… is it?"

Erik motioned toward his broken mirrors, and she hesitantly went over to them. She stared at her reflection in shock, and suddenly broke into a smile.

"Erik!" she exclaimed with a laugh of joy. "It's exactly like you!"

"But Aura!" he insisted, "I could never bear the thought of your having to bear such a…"

She stopped him by pressing her fingertips to his mouth. "It's no burden, Erik. It will be a joy to me to share it with you, and we can love each other all the more for it!" She threw her arms around him and leaned back with a silvery laugh. "We want to be together, don't we? Well, now we can be _completely_ together!"

"Oh, Aura!" Erik threw his arms around her as well and pulled her in closely. "I never imagined I could meet someone as perfectly wonderful as you."

Aura laughed and remained in the embrace for a very long time.

At last, she reluctantly drew back. "Oh, Erik," she said sadly. "I just remembered…

"_I must go-_

_They'll wonder where I am…_

_Wait for me, Erik!"_

Erik quickly replied:

"_Aura, I love you!"_

Aura smiled and took his hand.

"_Please stay right here waiting!_

_Meet me right down here!"_

Erik smiled and kissed her hand.

"_And soon you'll be beside me!"_

Aura blushed.

"_You'll guard me, and you'll guide me…"_

She stroked his face one last time and left, looking lovingly at him as she went.

She was so disappointed to have to go back, even though it was only for a single night. Everyone would wonder about her and probably start looking, and it would be so horrible if they were to find her and Erik! No, she couldn't do that to him!

Still, she would miss the wonderful time with Erik oh so much. He was so romantic and passionate and beautiful and everything she had ever dreamed, and the thought of being away from him for even a few moments, much less a whole night, filled her with dread and sadness.

All the same, it must be done, and do it she would. And the next morning, she would go back to him, this time to stay with him forever and ever, until death should they part.


	10. A Reality Check

Chapter 10 – A Reality Check

**Wherein things finally change… for the better?**

Aura woke a bit late next morning, despite being anxious to get back to Erik. She had already told everyone the night before that she would be leaving, and finally had a chance to get to sleep after a very long and very extended tearful goodbye. She'd miss the wonderful life she could have had up here, but she also knew that life with Erik would be far better.

She swung her legs over the side of the bed and sat up with a musical yawn. Her yawn was quickly followed by a series of blinks, then a rub to her eyes. Something about her dressing room wasn't quite right, though she couldn't quite decide why. Maybe it was the disappearance of Carlotta's huge portrait (though she'd readily admit that she hardly missed it), or the disappearance of her own things as well (which she missed a good deal more). Then again, it could have been the different furniture, different wallpaper, different mirror, different dimensions, and practically an entire different room!

She jumped up, wide awake, and ran to the mirror in alarm. If the mirror was different… She pulled desperately at the silvered glass, but it refused to move. Surely Erik hadn't locked it since she left. He knew she would need it to go back. She turned back to it with determination, pulling and pushing and tugging at every angle she could think of, yet even with her incredible strength, it wouldn't budge.

She fell to the floor with a sob. The sharp mirror edges and the frame had pinched and scratched at her fingers, turning their tips deep red. Her reflection stared back at her in mockery of her nearly beautiful appearance, clearly displaying her quarter-disfigured face and the fresh stains on her dress. Even her hair was slightly out of place, possibly for the first time in her life! Perhaps it didn't matter that she couldn't return to Erik after all; how could he possibly love her now?

At last, she stood and regained her bearings. She might not be quite as beautiful as before, but that didn't mean she had to look hideous!

She darted about the now-unfamiliar room, gathering things that she might use. There were some thin bits of cloth she could use as make-shift bandages, and a couple of simple gloves to hide them. Strewn across a chair was a black shawl that covered most of the dress' stains quite beautifully. A pair of beautiful combs that lay on the table styled her hair in a particularly attractive manner and held up a gorgeous bit of sheer cloth that served as the perfect veil for her partially deformed face. There was even a pair of shoes nearby that, despite being just a touch large, went exquisitely with her new outfit.

At last, she stood before the mirror again, this time with a smile. Now she looked pretty again, and if she couldn't get to Erik through the mirror, then she'd just go a different way!

She stepped out into the hallway, and immediately felt disoriented all over again. Where was she? Had they remodeled the entire building overnight? She turned right, which she hoped would still take her to the foyer, and was just deciding that the place was still familiar after all when a slight young woman with golden hair hurried past her.

Aura quickly stopped and turned around. "Meg?" she called after the rushing form.

"I'm sorry, just a minute," said a small voice from behind her.

In confusion, Aura whirled around to see a small, dark girl rush past her. "What?" asked Aura, but the girl was already down the hall, apparently rushing after the first young woman.

"Christine!" called the girl. "What do you mean 'angel'? Christine? Get back here!"

Aura fell back against the wall, her mind a sudden whirlwind of confusion. What in the world was going on around here?

She shook her head and kept going. She'd make it back to Erik before long, and then none of this would matter anymore. She just had to find out how to get there!

After a good deal of exploring and hopeless dead ends, she began to search the outside of the building where she was finally met with success. She hurried down the dark tunnel, shivering slightly as the light slowly disappeared. At last, after a good many turns, she made it past the realm of any light at all, and it was at about this point that she ran into the first fork in the road.

Now, considering that the only thing that was visible anymore was black darkness, she quite literally ran into the fork in the road: or at least the wall that suddenly appeared at the end of the pathway. She pulled herself up, temporarily dazed, and felt around for the wall. Finding none on either side of her, she fell back to the ground in fresh disappointment. She promptly jumped back up, however, as she knew she simply had to get to Erik as soon as possible. She hastily chose the left path and hurried down it, being a bit more careful about unexpected surprises this time.

She soon found herself in the midst of a horrible labyrinth of turns and forks and branches and dead ends, and barely avoided a good many traps. Fortunately, however, her incredible good luck served her well, and it was only a few hours before she finally made it to the edge of the lake, still in one perfectly safe piece.

It was probably for this reason that she was so upset to discover that the boat wasn't at the shore. Surely she had left it there last night! But no, Erik certainly wouldn't want it left alone where just anyone could find it and take it across the lake, especially when she would be needing it to get back. He must have taken it back and was waiting for her to let him know she was there.

"Erik!" she called, her golden voice carrying easily across the lake and carrying its gorgeous echo back to her. "Erik!"

She jumped as she suddenly noticed a shadow out on the lake; it had frozen at the sound of her voice, which was probably why she had noticed it.

Aura ran to the shore. "Erik?!" she called excitedly.

"Yes?"

Aura jumped and darted away from the water. The voice had been right beside her… but no one was there! "I- I'm back," she said falteringly.

"Back?" the low voice inquired, once again right at her ear.

She looked around wildly, but saw nothing out of the ordinary besides that strange shadow. "Yes, I- I left just yesterday… don't you remember?"

"What did you leave?" The voice was getting colder.

"You," she said, barely above a whisper.

"Erik does not remember you," the voice replied, then added in a dark tone that made her shiver despite herself, "but I might."

"Wh-wh-who are you?" she faltered.

"No one of consequence to you." The voice suddenly switched sides. "I believe the real question is: Who are _you_?"

Aura tugged on her shawl, bemoaning the fact that it couldn't have been made warmer. "I- I'm Aura… That is, my name is Aurelie Felicienne Cholmondeley, but Aura's fine…"

"Indeed," returned the voice with a sharp sarcasm that quickly made her shut up. There was a long silence, then… "Why are you here?"

"To go back to Erik," she said quietly.

"Erik does not remember you," the voice said in a suddenly icy tone, "nor does he wish to see you."

"But he must!"

The voice suddenly retreated to the water, but only grew more threatening. "Go! This is not where you belong.

"But I told you…"

The distant shadow moved forward a bit, and she gasped as a pair of flaming eyes appeared. They bored into her, forcing her fully against the wall. "I will not warn you again!" This time the voice clearly came from the awful shadow, and from those horrible eyes!

"Erik…" she pleaded pitifully, and at once the eyes disappeared.

It took some time before she was willing to come back out from the rock wall. She saw no sign of Erik, but he must have done something if the eyes had disappeared at such a crucial time. She slowly moved toward the lake, and was thrilled to see that the boat was slowly moving toward her, almost as if it had been pushed.

It was then that she began to be aware of a sweet song carried by the most beautiful voice she had ever heard. She didn't recognize the song, or even know what sort of music it was; it was nothing like she had ever heard before, but she was fully entranced by it. If only she knew where it was coming from!

At last, unable to listen any longer without knowing its source, she threw aside the shawl and veil and threw herself into the icy lake. The water stunned her with its nearly impossible coldness, but she still forced herself to swim rather clumsily forward. She still couldn't decide where the music was coming from, but it was definitely out in the lake somewhere. She soon reached the drifting boat and somehow managed to get in, where she continued her increasingly desperate search. But first the voice would come from one place, then another, until at last she felt she had traveled in several days' worth of circles, and was far from even a distant trace of shore.

At last, she heard the voice move beside the boat. She leaned over, still shivering in her wet clothes._ Come to me_, the voice seemed to call, and she silently responded. _I do… I come…_Both arms reached out toward the water as she gazed downward in a hypnotic state.

The trance was sharply broken as a pair of strong arms splashed out of the water and pulled her in, too quickly for her to react. She was held under water for what seemed an impossible amount of time before finally being allowed to resurface. She gratefully gasped in the freezing air, even though she was still held in a steel grip by a pair of sinewy arms.

Her captor laughed, a harsh yet strangely beautiful laugh, and forced her to look into his burning eyes. She could see now that they were framed by a full black mask. "You wish to see Erik!"

Aura cringed at the crazed yet strangely composed sound of his voice, and quickly looked away.

"No! Do not look away!" he cried. "You wish to see Erik, and so you shall! Look and be satisfied!"

Aura looked back at the eyes, despite her growing sense of dread. If this was Erik…

"I see you expected something different," he continued, his sarcastic tone returning. "Perhaps you expected an archduke, or a wealthy gentleman." His gaze hardened. "Or perhaps you expected a fully handsome man who could sweep you off your feet for a good price."

She gasped. What was he saying?!

He laughed bitterly. "Well, I assure you that I am not handsome!"

Aura tried to scream, but even that failed her as he suddenly tore away the mask. Whatever she had expected to see under that mask, this was ten thousand times worse. It was too horrible to allow her to scream, too awful to allow her to faint, and too frightening to allow her to fight… She simply remained frozen in place, staring in horror at the sight in front of her.

He widened his mouth in a skeletal grin as his eyes darkened again. "Erik is not what you expected, is he?" he said with a terrible laugh. The sound of it resonated throughout the cavern, and nearly matched the face itself in its awfulness. "But you wished to see him, and he could not deny you your desire."

"Erik," Aura pleaded, unable to say anything else. "Erik…"

"Erik is right here," he said, the sarcasm harshly biting her like never before. "Erik is here, but perhaps he will show you mercy from his face." The last words were spat out in detest, and she finally felt the first twinge of pity for him.

"No, you… he doesn't need to," she said in a faltering voice.

"No… but the poor girl wishes it, and so Erik will give it to her." He grinned one last time, and his voice rose fiercely. "Do not fear; Erik will not be here much longer!"

Aura screamed in horror, but the strong arms had pushed her below the water again, and no sound ever came out. The eyes continued to watch her, and they were the last thing she saw before a watery blackness covered her vision forever.

* * *

Erik finally released his burden in mild exhaustion. It was rare that he went to so much trouble with his intruders, but then, this intruder was different. There was doubtless a reason behind her strange manner, but he didn't particularly care to know it.

He recovered his mask as he swam the short distance to shore. He really was a bit tired now after dealing with that intruder. He would have greatly preferred to go back home and rest for a bit, but he had no time for that now. He had nearly made himself late already, and Erik was never late!

He placed the mask back into its rightful position and began hurrying up the passageway. All thoughts of the strange Aura girl had already left his mind, replaced by someone of much greater importance. Even now, Christine would be waiting for him in her dressing room, and the Angel of Music must never keep her waiting!


End file.
